[TR] Hood- Ski Circumnavigicision 3/23/2004

[Hal_Burton]

Climb: Hood-Ski Circumnavigicision

 

Date of Climb: 3/23/2004

 

Trip Report:

The ski around Hood is probably my favorite day out on the mtn.

The rest of the week looking poor, I headed up last nite to see what I could make of today. Woke at 3ish to precip against the car windows. A leisurely breakfast gave me a little while stew over the weather. Finally headed out round 4:30 with the plan to judge the weather at the saddle. Clouds broke up around the top of Palmer (surprise, surprise) and the low clouds to the west weren't threatening.

Dropped across the Reid and took the high route over Yokum. Wind atop the ridge was fierce, nearly throwing me down when it caught my skis. Messed up the exit to the Sandy. Tried to climb down to the glacier, when I should have stayed high and contoured over. Lost a little altitude, but it did keep me higher than the low route we used last year.

Shot across the Sandy and the always entertaining serac colony on the far side with the mandatory skier eating ruts and Beetle sized boulders laying about.

Hiked it up around Cathedral Ridge and was skiing again across the Coe. Skinned up the Coe to the exit thru the rocks. Booted up to the top of the ridge then started skinning again up a very firm Snodome. About 600 feet of skinning later, a double ski crampon failure jettisonned them both down the slope, back to where I started skinning. Much cursing, some boot skiing, and a few minutes of foot 'pooning back up resolved that.

Continued up Snodome to get to the Elliot just below the north face. Just left of the NF routes is a smooth connection onto the Cooper Spur. Took this up, gained the ridge and got back on the planks, just in time for the clouds to engulf the ridge (remember this last year Iain?). At this point the coast is clear, the work is done. Zipping around Newton Clark. Wy'east etc. is a breeze.

Got down into White River still hankering for some turns so headed up to Triangle. But,alas, the wind was too cold, clouds too cloudy and the snow still bulletproof. Denied another day of Hood corn.

Right now this trip is stellar. The exit from the Elliot to the Spur is faster than dropping way down the Elliot and then slogging back up the Spur. Plus, once you put your skis on where you top out on the Spur, its one downhill shot to T-line. The Yokum crossing, if I had done it right, looks casual too.

Go get it!

 

Gear Notes:

Skis, skins, axe, crampons.

[iain]

Shot across the Sandy and the always entertaining serac colony on the far side with the mandatory skier eating ruts and Beetle sized boulders laying about

I was about to quit skiing for good at that point. Nice to see you got some good weather.

[Doug_Hutchinson]

Without knowing it, it seems that I am following in Hal Burton's ski tracks once again. I did the circumnavigation today and have never seen it so fine! The foot plus of recent new snow (Friday night was an epic powder night) was buffed to perfection.

 

I crossed Yocum the low way (7800'-8100') since the skiing on the Reid was too good to stop. This is very fast and easy but then requires more climbing to gain Cathedral Ridge. The Elliot can easily be crossed at 8800' which seemed to save at less an hour versus the safe bet of descending down to the lower Elliot. Perhaps the best part of doing it so early in the season is that all the south-facing ridges between Wy-East and White River are still almost completely covered although the rocks are beginning to come out. In a few weeks, you'll need to de-ski a lot here to scramble across rocks.

 

Gear Notes

I-pod-

Car to Magic Mile: Beatles - Rubber Soul

Magic Mile to I-saddle: DJ Spooky - That Sublimal Kid

I-saddle to Cath Ridge: Flaming Lips - Soft Bulletin

Cath Ridge to ridge after Pulpit Rock: Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf - Big Shots

Ridge to (almost) Cooper Spur: Elloit Smith - Roman Candle

Cooper Spur to car: Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty

 

Gotta go with the classics on this Hood classic!

[rbw1966]

I think I saw your brown robin at Home Repo, Pat. I was doing a solo ascent of the garden tools after smashing my finger on a rock. Epic dude!